No Rest For The Wicked
by christopher.sasaguay
Summary: The year is 1934. The Great Depression has damaged many lives but not Esther's. A rich, cruel, and sadistic woman, Esther soon faces the ultimate payback.


**No Rest For the Wicked**

**1934**

Esther watched them in amazement. One simple slice of bread had turned three peasant boys into raging beasts! Two of the young boys tried to strangle each other, while the third was being beaten by them every time they had a free hand. Esther enjoyed the kids more than their adult counterparts. The kids were more unexpected. It was exciting. Oh, how she loved to give to charity.

Some hours later, Esther strolled up to her townhouse.

Picking up her newspaper from the bottom of her front door steps, the headline annoyed her. The "Mayville Slasher", they called him. With eight blows of a hatchet, he left carnage in his wake.

"Pish posh", Esther replied.

Entering her home, she threw the paper to the floor. This was the third paper with a headline about the "Slasher", yet it had no importance to her. Her mind was set on one thing, and one thing only, Lydia's masquerade ball. And it was just in a few hours. Perhaps she'll get lucky with the men this time.

Getting her costume together, she looked at its beauty. It was a scarlet red with silver lining around the chest and hip. Putting it on, Esther then went and curled her black wavy hair. She finished up by collecting her red masquerade mask, covered with black lining in mystic shapes and pointed cheekbones.

Night had fallen as Esther made her way to Lydia's residence some blocks away from her home. The moon shined high and bright as the click of her black heels remained the only sound around her.

Suddenly a beggar staggered in front of her, out of the darkness of an alleyway next to her. She jumped then regained her posture.

"Spare some money, ma'am?"

Esther couldn't hold back her snicker, "I don't think so. What use would it be for a peasant like you?"

"I was a business man once, not too long ago," he hissed.

"Well," Esther answered, "It seems like you really hit bottom!"

Gliding past the beggar, Esther began to walk away.

"I saw what you did to those children today," the man suddenly said.

Esther stopped and sighed.

"All you rich people are the same," he began, "thinking you're all so high and mighty. Like kings and queens."

"Tell your speech to someone else," Esther replied bitterly and watched the beggar staggered back into the darkness he came from.

"Ah, good evening Madame Esther," Lydia's maid had proclaimed when she opened the door.

Esther nodded, applied her mask to her face, and entered.

Classical music filled her ears as she walked onto the dance floor. Esther soon spotted Lydia some feet away from her, putting her own mask on. Before Esther could move to her friend, a man came up to her and asked her hand to dance. Taking a moment to look over his suit, Esther smiled and gave her hand.

It must have been after midnight when Esther rested on a chair. The strong smell of alcohol filled the room. She watched, from across the room, as Lydia staggered into a man's arms and laughter erupted from both of them.

As usual, Esther had no man. All that asked for her hand, were not right, not at all.

It was then that she locked eyes with a cloaked figure staggering towards her.

He wore an odd silver mask on his face. It seemed to be the creation of a mad scientist.

"Your hand?"

Esther looked him over as he towered in front of her. Then she saw his gold pocket watch chained to his belt loop.

Smiling, Esther gave her hand.

Escorted, Esther found herself and her masked stranger alone on the dance floor. The others either had left the ball or were drinking more, she figured.

"Your mask is quite…devilish," the cloaked man said.

"Yours," she answered, "is very nightmarish."

The man laughed.

Esther looked at the silver mask over again. It had two faces, morphed at the center. A two faced mask.

"It's symbolic," he told her.

The two moved around the dance floor. After some time, he took Esther's hand and moved her towards a backroom.

Entering the room, the man turned the light on and closed the door.

Esther looked around and realized it was Lydia's parlor room.

"My mask," the man continued, "represents me. And represents you."

"My face does not look like that," Esther replied.

"You don't see it, that's why."

"Excuse me!" Esther yelled.

"For you," the man walked towards Esther, "You show your friends and those with power respect and kindness. For those you look down upon, you show your sadistic, narcissistic, ugly side."

Standing close to Esther, the man pulled off her mask. Then took his off.

"You!" Esther screamed as she looked into the eyes of the beggar she passed earlier. She suddenly felt dizzy.

"I lied to you," he began as Esther slowly sat down on a chair close to her, her back to the beggar, "I wasn't a business man. I was a simple, single man who lost everything."

Still light headed, she couldn't believe what had happened. How could she let someone like him, touch her!

"A beggar is just the one side of me. Everyone sees it. But my other side…"

Esther ignored him and massaged her forehead.

"Its just a shame," his words pieced her ears.

"Just a shame?" Esther asked, in confusion.

"That'll you be unrecognizable," the beggar's voice answered from behind her,

Turning around to face the beggar, Esther could only watch as he swung down a hatchet into her forehead.

Blow number one.


End file.
